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Sep 6, 2019

Friday, September 6, 2019, Bruce Haight

Title: Football season is here once again as is

One of my Friday regulars, Bruce Haight is back with his position paper on the NFL. All five of the themers are two-word phrases with the second word representing a football player's role. The clues all mention football players but the fill has an alternate meaning totally unrelated to the sport. It would have been super cool if he could have presented the offensive line in order, but hey I am feeling greedy. As always he fills in the blanks with some fun words and phrases like PANACHE, TAKEN TO, CLAM ROLL, FLIED OUT, I AM TOAST, and ON COURSE. Well luckily DORIAN did not stay on course to destroy us, so let's solve a puzzle.

18A. Philanthropic football player?: GIVING BACK(10). I like the pseudo alliteration

24A. Football player who's PR-savvy?: MEDIA CENTER(11). Do people still have these central places for TV, music, DVDs, etc?

36A. Football player with a line?: FISHING TACKLE (13). Football players don't usually use a line, though form one.

50A. Football player with management skills?: BUSINESS END(11). I associate that phrase with the barrel of a pistol.

57A. Football player at the beach?: COAST GUARD(10). I grew up near the Coast Guard Academy and was going to go there for college until they learned how blind I really was.

Across:

1. Source of seasonal color: LEAF. One of the things I miss about New England.

5. Like bubble baths: SUDSY. Silly.

10. Golfer at Royal Troon, often: SCOT. I want to go in the spring.

14. "I'm buying!": ON ME.

15. "America" soloist in "West Side Story": ANITA.

16. It parallels a radius: ULNA. He is trying hard to trick you, mathematics people.

17. Hot spot: OVEN. Not for a computer or a cellphone.

20. Varieties: KINDS.

22. "Diana" singer: ANKA.

23. Stooge Howard: MOE. We all miss Chairman Moe and his contributions.

27. Head for the hills: RUN.

28. Spots: ADS.

29. Groovy cousin: RAD. More like an evil nephew.

30. Usher: ESCORT.

32. No different from, with "the": SAME AS. Same old, same old.

35. "One more thing ... ": ALSO. Remind you this?

40. Work out ahead of time: PLAN. Oo is a planner, I am not.

41. Appropriate: SEEMLY.

42. Targets: AIMS AT.

45. Fjord kin: RIA. Water, water everywhere.

46. Book jacket info: BIOgraphy.

49. Goal feature: NET. Soccer (futbol) basketball and more.

54. Hubbub: ADO.

55. Fictional hunchbacked helper: IGOR. Eegor, or Eyegor?

56. Like many windows: PANED. Also many bad puns - pained ones.

61. It's abuzz with activity: HIVE. Who doesn't love bee humor?

62. Cover for an ear: HUSK. And corny humor!

63. Ending with poly-: ESTER. Want a cracker.

64. Chills: ICES.

65. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.

66. Monopoly stack: DEEDS.

67. Friend of Mary Poppins: BERT. Dick Van Dyke.

Down:

1. Start of a kid's show-offy cry: LOOK MA. Seen in many professional sporting events.

7. Backless sofa: DIVAN. This is a long low sofa without a back or arms, typically placed against a wall.

8. Period of work: STINT. Meh.

9. "Sandman" or "Joltin' Joe": YANKEE. CSO to Tinman.

10. Long sandwich: SUB. A mini-clecho with...

11. Seafood sandwich: CLAM ROLL.

12. Headed the right way: ON COURSE.

13. Fallen for: TAKEN TO.

19. Long-nosed fish: GARS. Gar, any of seven species of large North American fishes of the genera Atractosteus and Lepisosteus, in the family Lepisosteidae. Gars, which are related to the bowfin in the infraclass Holostei, is confined chiefly to freshwater, though some of the species descend to brackish or even saltwater.

53. Indian title of respect: SAHIB. This is a word of Arabic origin meaning "companion". As a loanword, it has passed into several languages, including Persian, Kurdish, Turkish,[1] Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Somali.

58. Reggae relative: SKA.

59. Wine choice: RED. White? Rosé? Another Moe, CSO.

60. No and J: DRS. The Bond movie and the basketball player.

We are past our first hurricane scare in two years, and now the days are getting shorter but the puzzles are not. I really like the rotation of Friday constructors that Tom and I get to discuss. Now if we had a couple of female creators, it would be in balance. Be well all. Lemonade out.

Mistakenly thought we were looking for a real cousin at 19a. Can you believe it? [Yeah, I thought you could.] Don't believe anyone would say I AM TOAST -- it'd be "I'm toast." or "I am so dead." I got so footballized that I tried ruSHING TACKLE -- a twofer. Easily fixed. Thanx for the challenge, Bruce, and for the erudite expo, Lemonade.

FIR, but erased lam for RAN. AIMS to for AT, ague for ICES, shift for STINT, a loud out for FLIED OUT, and cling for CLASP. DNK ANITA (just Maria), BERT (hey, it's been 60 years), FENDI (if I ever start carrying a man bag I'll look them up), Sandman (sounds boring), CLAM ROLL (how many Zig Zags does THAT take?), and I thought that DIVAN, sofa and couch were synonyms.

Most of the project management classes I teach involves creating a great PLAN. If you have one, everything goes much easier.

In real (stereotyped) life, one rarely encounters a SCOT followed by ON ME. When a SCOT drinks, everyone drinks. And when a SCOT pays, everyone pays.

We decided to stay home and ride out Dorian. Still have power, internet and satellite. We expect conditions to deteriorate through the morning, and easing in the afternoon.

Thanks to Bruce for another fun puzzle, and to Lemony for another fun review.

Nice topical theme, coinciding with the start of the NFL season yesterday night. Needed just under 11 minutes to complete the roster.

I fell for the misdirection with "cover for an ear". I didn't know Sahib, and I wanted louse for souse. I wasn't sure how to spell divan, and I do not know why anyone would make a backless sofa (unless they ran out of time or materials).

Good morning all. Thanks Bruce Haight for the fun and Lemony for the review.Mcd’s coffee still warm, so FIR in reasonably good time. OWEN KL It’s good to see you fighting back with your sharp wit . Always a pleasure to start the day smiling . I wonder sometimes if you laugh out loud as you come up with these zingers time after time.

Musings -A very nice seasonal, 11 minute walk in the park or stadium-I am subbing in English today. Their two vocab words are repugnant and dismal. Hmmm…-Teachers hardly ever use MEDIA CENTERS (libraries) any more but mostly use computers in their rooms -Golf partner from yesterday had just returned from playing St Andrews in SCOTLAND-Neither Rita nor Moreno fit for ANITA-I might become a soccer fan if the ball went into the NET more often-My 90-yr-old friend competively cornhusking-AMEND – We spent an hour with the assisted living people Wednesday and were ready to put MIL there. Yesterday they told us it would actually cost double what they quoted us two days ago-Having only “Warning Track Power” will not get you to the majors

I'm always keen to see what tricks Bruce has up his sleeve and today's offering gave away his wordplay wizardry early on, but in no way detracted from the fun in solving it. My only w/o was Behave/Be Nice and my only nose wrinkler was Caky. Yes, I guess it's acceptable but I just don't like its looks. All is forgiven, though, with the inclusion of Panache. Isn't it funny how some words just strike our fancy, for no particular reason, usually. I loved the theme and breezed through the solve in less than normal Friday time.

I wanted LEAF at first but somehow it didn't look like it was perp friendly so I left it open. Started in the NE and proceeded clockwise. Only 2 WO's, clamp before CLASP and rushing……… before FISHING………. The football schtick was seen early and it sped up the solve. 2 probable gerunds with …ING allowed A BIT of pre-fill. And at the end - - LEAF went in. FIR - no help needed. Grudgingly commend the cluing for DRS.ANITA - My sister's name.

I was pleased to fill this one quickly and thought I was getting my groove back, but apparently it was just an easier puzzle. I liked the theme. Fine expo, Lemon.I would surely miss the lovely fall foliage if I were to leave the NE. Spring and autumn here are ideal, and early winter and parts of summer are great, too.STINT sounds normal to me. "After a brief stint as a speech therapist, she changed careers, attended Rutgers Law School and eventually landed a job at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law." Seattle Times Aug. 25, 2019.STINT is often used in reference to sports. "Part of the Miles resume includes an assistant coaching stint at Michigan." Seattle Times Aug 30, 2019The last 10 years I taught, the school library was called the MEDIA CENTER. The superintendent would not buy more books for the library saying they were being replaced by other media, but he didn't provide much of that either. Are paper books becoming passe?SOUSE is a PA DUTCH dish. Mom called it pigs' feet jelly. Pigs' feet, sometimes with pigs' ears and tongue are boiled to make a broth. Vinegar is added along with the diced meat to pickle the dish. It is refrigerated to make an aspic like jelly. I don't care for it. I don't think I'd ever be soused enough to eat it. In German I think souse is Sülze.More square dance paperwork awaits with the start of the new season. Ciao.

"Sandman and Joltin' Joe" clues YANKEE. Joltin' Joe is DiMaggio, but there is some confusion with the nickname Sandman. When Mariano Rivera entered the game in relief, the song "Enter Sandman" was always played. Rivera's nickname, however, was Moe. He was never, in this Yankee fan's knowledge, referred to as Sandman. I believe the song was used because when Moe pitched, batters were "put to sleep" in the sense of being out. Rivera is acknowledged as the best relief pitcher ever.

"Souse is a variety of head cheese found in Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. Head cheese is not a dairy product but rather a product made from (tah dah…) the head of an animal (usually pig or calf) along with some other left-over “scraps” that remain after butchering and often include the feet, tongue, and heart.

In a frugal household or in peasant cultures, no part of an animal that can be used is left go to waste. Pa Dutch and Coal Region favorites such as scrapple make use of “everything but the oink”. Head cheese itself, however, is not specific to the Pa Dutch culture, but rather can be found in various cuisines across the US and globe including Caribbean and Eastern European.

The word SOUSE itself probably comes from the Germanic souce, or pickling juice, which is related to sulza, or brine. Think of souse as head cheese with vinegar added. The traditional way to make head cheese is to simmer an animal’s head, which is very bone dense, for several hours which will then yield the bounty of rich gelatin needed to produce headcheese/souse. This gelatinous broth binds the meat together to form a terrine-like product usually in the shape of a loaf. "

I'm not sure if this has been posted or not, but there is a way to do the LA Times Crossword online at MENSA. Owen posted a link last week, but the link needs to be amended for the particular day you want. For example, the link that Owen posted looks like this: https://www.us.mensa.org/base/includes/display_objects/custom/AML/gamesroom/LACross/xword_online_mx1.swf?dt=190831.

If you want to change it for the current date do the following1. Load the above link in your browser's address bar2. CHANGE the digits at the end of the URL as they are DATE DIGITS. (For example if you wanted to do today's puzzle, CHANGE190831 to 190906. (The YEAR is 19, the MONTH is 09, and the the DATE is 06. Everything prior in the address bar remains the the same.3. Hit enter after making the change in the address bar. 4. It may sound difficult, but is really very simple and takes 5 secs.

John E. let's both enjoy our victory today and hope it continues through a more challenging Saturday. Just the confidence of winning makes the next puzzle easier.Thanks, JJM, but now that I found the Washington Post puzzle, which even has the circles, I think I will stay with that one.

I agree with the "evil nephew" thing!Good puzzle; FIR because of a mix-up in the center-west.Desper-otto; "I AM TOAST" was easier to swallow than "TAKEN TO". I've been TAKEN BY, or started TAKING TO someone or something, but never been TAKEN TO except in a car. And FLIED OUT ain't good English; except in Jock-Speak. :)

RE: Mensa. When I want to go to the Mensa LA Times Crossword. I open Google, enter Mensa crossword, and hit enter. The first link that pops up for me is LA Times Crossword; American Mensa. I click on that and I am in. Then I proceed to print it.

I liked today's crossword. Got through it easier than most Fridays. Got the theme early and that did help me. Did not help the Bears much. They lost last night to Green Bay, 10-3.

Some unknowns: FENDI, BERT. That's it. The rest I knew, or almost knew.

Good discussion on SOUSE. I like a lot of that "don't waste anything" cooking.

Well, all those football clues made me almost despair about starting this Friday puzzle, but I got the southeast readily, and so slowly worked my way up. Lots of nice clues and items along the way, like IGOR, MOE, ANKA, SARAH Palin, and Dick Van Dyke's sweet BERT in "Mary Poppins." I unfortunately goofed by putting MARIA instead of ANITA, and that messed up that area for a bit. And then, to my surprise, I got FISHING TACKLE and so figured out that the football theme was a cute joke. Anyway, turned out to be fun, thanks, Bruce. And Lemonade, I loved seeing that colorful LEAF picture, at this time of the year.

I have to admit that the cooking discussion made me want to become a vegetarian.

I looked at fallen for/taken to for a while before it made sense.Dictionary.com"TAKE TOTo develop an attraction to or fondness of someone or something. I'm so happy that my parents have taken to my new girlfriend. I didn't think I would take to this kind of work, but I'm actually loving it so far!"

I’ve taken to square dancing like a duck to water. It has been almost 35 years since I learned to square dance. We will start our new class of beginners on Monday. We call the seasoned dancers who help the newbies "angels." All but a few of those years I have been an angel and for many of those years I have been class coordinator, as well.

I hope no news is good news. It seems everyone from here has escaped Dorian and is safe.

We're in the clear, just 20-30 mph wind left over and one more high tide of worry. Looks like the beautiful Outer Banks had quite a bit of damage, however, even though their winds topped out "only" in the 90s. A cold front hit the storm just as it got closest to this area, causing the worst winds to happen as the storm was departing. Weird. Also weird is that I didn't hear any thunder. Weather.com called for thundershowers all day. Thanks for the well-wishes yesterday and today.

I lived for many years in New England. The fall hues, especially in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, are wonderful. But they do not have an exclusive hold on autumnal beauty. Right here in Irvine we have spectacular fall colors. The eye just needs to be trained to see them, not to pass them by but to linger, to dwell calmly upon them.

Today's theme is what my wife--who just tolerates football--would call "cute." I worried a bit that it might require a memory for players' names and was pleased to learn it needed only a minimal knowledge of team positions.

60D is a perfect example of the type of fill I call a "No-see-um." There's no way you can see the answer until you've solved it. Then it is perfectly clear.

I agree with Irish Miss: PANACHE is a lovely word. Its appearance in a Xwd reminds me of the title character and play of Cyrano de Bergerac. In Cyrano's final scene, he fights against death and, as he succumbs, he claims that one aspect of his life--just one--will never be conquered. In the famous Brian Hooker translation (of the Edmond Rostand original), Cyrano calls this undefeated part of his soul, "My white plume." But, of course, the original term was, "Mon PANACHE"!~ OMK____________DR: A 3-way on the near side.The main diag offers an unusual anagram. Everybody has heard of Eden and many have read or seen “East of Eden,” but few folk are aware of the South of Eden. What goes on there? Well, for those who rely on birth control to keep family size in check, there is an alternate path to infertility--if you can find your way back to Eden. It lies in a very special valley that can be found in the southern wilds of Paradise, the lowest region of all, where the natural waters and sweetened air can change your entire metabolism.I refer, of course, to the semi-arid precinct known as…“AGENESIA DALE”!

Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Bruce and Lemonade.This CW required P&P and created a few inkblots, but I FIRed and saw the football theme.

I wanted that period of work to be a Shift not a STINT. (Hi Jinx) I was headed the wrong way as I entered ON Track - ON COURSE filled the spot. My cycle started as a Tri before it downsized to a UNI. (At least the answer wasn't CEE.)

Several misdirections with spots=ADS, those GAR fish being plural; appropriate was an adjective not a verb. I see that d'o was caught by that "groovy cousin"."Fallen for"=TAKEN TO was a stretch for me. (Yes YR, I see the connection now in your post @1:54.)"Hit one that was caught on he warning track, say" was a very convoluted clue!I smiled at SUB and CLAM ROLL right beside each other (and not far from those GARS). Clam Roll even crossed FISHING TACKLE.

Wiki seems to disagree with the clue for RIA as "fiord kin". "In the 21st century, however, the preferred usage of ria by geologists and geomorphologists is to refer solely to drowned unglaciated river valleys. It therefore excludes fjords by definition, since fjords are products of glaciation." Or can they still be Kin?

At least the ear with associated with corn HUSKs today for PK.We had plural ICE for Tin, and RED reminded me of Marti. (Hope she is doing well.)

The problem with CAMIs (the ones linked are very pretty) at this AGE relates to 5D. "Give somewhat" is an understatement! An additional PLAN is necessary.But really, I am having the "time of my life"! . . . and with PANACHE (love that word -Hi IM).(After the discussion of proper Penelope pronunciation yesterday, I hope nobody is pronouncing PANACHE as an ache in your pots and pans!

FENDI was unknown to me. I followed the link, and decided that a $2000 purse that was barely big enough to hold my cell phone, keys and lipstick was not necessary to my PANACHE.I will admit they are cute.

OMK - thanks for the info on PANACHE. DH and I saw Cyrano de Bergerac at the Shaw in August (great production!). Yes, I remember that ending, but did not associate it with Panache until your post. Thanks.

AnonPVX - We may not have posted, but we were concerned for all of you in Dorian's path. Glad to hear that you, Jinx, Lemonade and others are OK. Not everyone is out of the woods. As I posted last night, Dorian is forecast to hit Atlantic Canada this weekend and even with its diminished force, it may still do significant damage.

FLN - yes, Sandyanon, we are overjoyed that Bianca Andreescu is in the U.S Open final after that hard-fought battle. This will be a rematch of the Canadian Open Rogers Cup Final where Andreescu won the title after Williams retired due to an injury. Their exchange after that game is worth watching in these days of ruthless competitors.Andreescu console Williams

YR & Spitz - thanks for the lesson on SOUSE and other aspic nastiness. I would join Misty in the vegie-quest but I think I'll rather pickle my head with a pint :-)

Lem, in the mid-'90s/early-aughts, Astros' Billy Wagner, who never played for the YANKEEs, came on with Enter Sandman [H-Chron article]. There was a bit of an ADO when he, Wagner as a Met, faced Mariano(?)

C, Eh! - LOL kin to Fjord. The first time I heard of (read) Fjords was when Slartibartfast was complaining he was just getting good at them but then got assigned to Africa. //anyone OTHER than OMK that gets this wins ++ in my book :-)

Speaking of book... Last night I mentioned Randall Munroe's new book... well, GUESS WHO was on Science Friday today?

Hi everybody. In a somewhat late celebration of Barbara's birthday, we headed out for a short jaunt to a local hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant. We split up two entrees; one with shrimp and one with pork. Both were excellent. We had Barbara's favorite, Thai iced tea to wash it down with.

Well, we just had a technician here checking our phone line to figure out why our DSL speed is so slow. Bottom line: because we are so far from the Central Office the wires are very long, actually over the maximum specified distance, he can't do anything about it. He assured us all the connections are good and "clean" and that there are no short circuits or "bridge taps" that could cause performance deterioration. What he did do, though, was give us a "new" modem, for free, and set it up for us. Before he left, he told us he himself is not an AT&T customer because their service is so poor, and that he uses "those other guys." He even suggested we do the same!

Now that we have been using the internet we find that the "new" modem is no better or worse than the one we had before, which is not surprising because there was nothing wrong with our old modem in the first place. At least we still have it, as a spare, in case we ever need to go back to it. Of course, with the new modem, our Wifi password is different so we had to update all our devices that use Wifi. Sheesh.

As for switching to the other guys (Comcast cable), LW, bless her heart, is going to "think about it" for the next several days. Knowing her, it will be for the next several months. In fact, more often than not, when she says she'll "think about it" she really means "No, I don't want to do it." I'm not holding my breath.

At least we have internet access again, so that's good, even though it is still as slow as ever. (Sufficient to post on here, however!)

JJM: Thank you for noticing the Mensa URL I left last week. I posted it so late at night, I didn't know if anyone had noticed. What I like about the Mensa site is that I can get it earlier in the day than any others. And the link I gave this morning @6:23 included an Easter Egg that the text URL didn't.

Jayce, maybe wireless 5G will be available before she makes up her mind. Just don't be confused by AT&T's 5G E (or Evolution), which is just a dishonest way to market souped-up 4G service. DSL isn't very good more than about three cable-miles (not airline miles) from the central office. Amplifiers are available to extend this range a bit, but telcos are not very interested in spending money in an industry that is in decline.

Jinx, thank you. Yeah, I’m up on the AT&T “5G E” marketing lie, er, exaggeration. We’ve checked on availability of wireless in this area and there isn’t any. I think it has something to do with contracts with the city and exclusivity agreements.